


Written Words

by lightthornn



Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Book 8.5: Unlocked, F/M, I just finished and cannot function, Sophie reads the letter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:48:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27645730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightthornn/pseuds/lightthornn
Summary: Sophie comes back to her room after what should've been a victory; and she discovers that everything has fallen apart.
Relationships: Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	Written Words

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER ALERT
> 
> I am writing this not even an hour after finishing Unlocked because I just cannot function.

She had done something. After years of not doing anything themselves, something had been done. Sophie knew how dangerous it was for her to have done what she did, but she had no regrets. The Neverseen had never stopped going after her and her friends. They had hurt them over and over again. She was tired of it. She had done something. Lady Gisela's Archetype was gone; her plans hopefully with it. Everything that they hadn't been able to carry was gone. It was a victory, one of the first ones that she had ever had. It felt like loss after loss, all the time, never-ending. 

When Sophie walked into her room, she felt like she was walking on top of the world. Nothing could knock her down now. She even forgot for a second how much it hurt not being able to talk to Keefe. About everything that they didn't know, because they had done something. She hadn't thought, she hadn't played it safe. They needed to stop playing it safe. All it was doing was making things even worse than they were. 

"Iggy!" She said with a smile. Dex hadn't told her that he would be stopping by. Now, he was a swirl of purples, greens and blues, covered in stripes. He had never been multiple colors before; always just one. Dex was really stepping up his game this time. 

She grabbed the paper that was folded in his cage and frowned. That wasn't Dex's handwriting. She stared at the name written on the back of the paper. 

_Sophie_

She knew the handwriting. But Keefe never called her Sophie. It was always Foster, or some other nickname that he would come up with. She had always liked the nicknames. Before coming to the Lost Cities, the only person who had ever cared enough to give her nicknames was her own father. The ones she did have were never very nice, always going against her, reminding her of how different she would always be. 

Why would he send her a letter in the first place? He could always hail her, or she could reach out to him telepathically. The thought of what could've happened to him sent fear up her spine, and her hands were shaking as she opened the letter, reading the words from the hand that she knew so well. How he always wrote in capital letters. 

Her stomach plummeted as she read it, and it dropped from her hand onto the ground. 

"What happened?" Sandor asked her, stepping out from the shadows where he always was. 

Sophie shook her head, picking the letter back up again. She read it again. 

Again. 

Again. 

She turned it over, wishing that she would see another message on the back of the paper, something telling her it was a prank, like, _You can't get rid of me that easily_ , or _I would never leave._ But the back was blank, there was nothing to even hunt at where he was going except that one line of words. 

He was going to the Forbidden Cities. 

"No," She whispered, tears blurring her vision. "No," 

_You mean a lot to me Foster, more than you'll ever know._

_Please be careful. Please be happy. And PLEASE forget all about me._

_It'll be better for everyone that way._

_You'll see._

_Love,_

_Keefe._

Her eyes landed on the second to last word again. It didn't seem like something Keefe would ever write. Before, he would always sign notes with just his name. Never any other form of signing off a letter. 

Then again, the whole letter didn't seem like something Keefe would do. But at the same time, of course Keefe would do something like that. Why wouldn't he? he had always been worried about hurting someone. He had hardly talked in days, because he was so worried about hurting someone. 

So, he did the only thing that he could think of to do. He left, going away from everyone and everything that would stop him, before anyone could even think to stop him. She didn't know how he had managed to get away from Ro, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She didn't put it past him. Keefe was smarter than he would ever let on. 

She didn't know how long it had been since he had left. If she had, she would try to go after him. She would try to get him back before he made such a big mistake. This was something that he would never be able to take back. They were the Forbidden Cities for a reason. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how he would be punished when he came back. _If_ he came back.

He would come back, she had to believe that one day he would be back with his grin, nicknames, and jokes when he shouldn't be joking around. 

In the letter, he said it would be the last time he would ever talk to her, and Sophie didn't even want to imagine what a world without Keefe would be like. One where he didn't talk was bad enough, but one even without his presence? 

She choked back a sob, sinking onto the edge of her bed, still holding that letter. One of the last things that she had left of Keefe.

Sandor was looking at her with concern in his eyes. She didn't need to be an Empath to know that. 

She didn't have the energy in her to explain what had happened. And thankfully, Sandor didn't seem too concerned about pressing it out of her, which was weird for him. He always wanted to know what was happening with her. Hardly ever gave her privacy. Even when she needed it the most. After time, she had grown to be thankful for that. She was now, and she let herself cry. 

Then she was angry. He had already left once. Hadn't he _seen_ how much it had hurt her for him to be gone? And even then she was able to talk to him, But now, she had no idea how to talk to him. 

_Keefe._

She reached her mind out as far as it could go, like she was spreading a sheet in every direction, she was going as far as it would let her, even though she could feel the strain. 

_KEEFE?_

_KEEFE!_

_Keefe. Please._

_Please._

There was nothing. She had known that he wouldn't answer her. He had known what he was doing when he had left, and he wasn't going to respond to her. She couldn't feel his mind. Keefe's mind, that had always felt so comfortable to her. It was one of the ones that she knew so well, the feeling being one that she found herself looking for often. 

How could he just leave? There were people who cared about, herself included. She wanted to scream at someone, blame someone. 

Her imparter was in her hand before she could think and then Elwin was there, furrowing his brows. 

"Sophie? What happened?" 

"How could you let him leave?" She shouted, needing to get it out of her system.

"Who?" Elwin clearly had no idea what she was talking about. That just made her even angrier than she had been.

"Keefe! He's gone! I don't know where he is, but I think he went to the Forbidden Cities!" She was screaming at him now. "How could you let him go? You were supposed to watch him," 

"I-I didn't know," 

Sophie didn't want to hear anything else from him, she hung up and flung the imparter against a wall, relishing in the sound of it shattering.

She froze when she realized that the last time that she had seen Keefe, he had told her to stay away from him. She could only see the expression on his face- shattered and broken when she tried to think of him. The hurt that had burst in her like a flower blooming. She had never wanted to lose him, but if she ever had to, she would want to be able to see him for the last time smiling and cracking one of his jokes. 

Her mind flashed to the white hallway where she had first met him. When he had been skipping classes and her biggest worry had been passing her alchemy session. She wondered what would've happened if she had read the instructions right. Would Keefe be hurting this much? He would still have the powers that he shouldn't ever have, but he would probably be working for his mother willingly. 

Keefe had been a constant in her life almost since the day she had come to the Lost Cities. From being stuck in detention with her, to window sleepovers, betrayals, and always being there to save her no matter what. And now, to the goodbye she wouldn't let become goodbye. 

She had to get him back. 

He wasn't getting away from her that easily. 

But right then, she let herself cry and cry for her friend who was gone from her now, who should be resting and recovering. 

Lady Gisela had long ago chosen the life that she wanted for her son. Keefe had done everything that he could to resist against it, but she had still given him those abilities that nobody knew what were.

She stared out the window, and wondered if wherever he was, if Keefe was looking at the same sky that she was.


End file.
